This year’s edition of Dreamforce will showcase an extremely diverse group of talented individuals from a wide range of disciplines, and one we’re pumped to hear from is Neil Young. Yes, the Neil Young. Young will be taking part in an A-list panel called, Reimagine Everything, featuring Al Gore, Arianna Huffington and Eckhart Tolle — where they’ll discuss how “re-imagining the way we live and work can change the world.”
But before checking that out, check out these 10 fast facts on such a renowned and accomplished musician — Neil Young!
1. Neil Young is a Canadian born singer-songwriter. At age 68, he continues to put out new music. His latest album, A Letter Home, was released in May.
2. Young is in the process of launching his music-download service called Pono. The service will offer high-quality audio downloads to consumers, allowing them to hear the music “in its native resolution.” The project was originally crowdsource funded via Kickstarter, and smashed its original goal of $800,000, raising nearly $6.25 million total.
3. Rolling Stone listed Young as the 34th greatest artist of all time in 2000. The magazine also included five of his records on their 500 greatest albums of all time list.
4. On the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — Crosby, Stills, and Nash appeared alongside Fallon as he, in his signature “Neil Young” impersonation, performed a version of the summer hit “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea. Classic!
5. When an East Carolina University professor discovered a new species of trapdoor spider, he named it after his favorite artist, Neil Young. With that, the Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi became the most recent addition to the trapdoor genus of spiders — and likely the strangest honor Neil Young’s ever received in his career.
6. Young is such a legendary figure that he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame TWICE. He was first inducted in 1995 for his solo work, then again in 1997 for his work in the band Buffalo Springfield.
7. This isn’t so much a fact about Neil Young as it is a fact about me, but “Rockin’ in the Free World” was a defining song of my childhood. My little brother loved to run around playing air guitar and belting out the lyrics as a five year old. Surely everyone is introduced to Neil Young like this, right??
8. Young has been referred to as “The Godfather of Grunge” for his influence on the grunge music movement of the early 90s. His music shaped the sounds of artists like Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.
9. As a five year old, Young contracted polio. He also suffers from epilepsy, experiencing seizures from time to time. Despite battling these two difficult conditions, Young became a defining talent of his generation.
10. After vowing to never write a book about himself in his younger days, Young is scheduled to release his second autobiography this year. It is to be titled Special Deluxe, following his first release from 2012 titled Waging Heavy Peace.
So with only a few days before Dreamforce, it’s time to break out those old Neil Young records and gear up for a great conference. Check out our full list of sessions and events on this page, and stop by our booth at Moscone N1123 to chat about the latest in sales optimization and technology with some friendly LevelEleven faces!
